Preoperational children fail conservation tasks because of Centration A tendency to focus on static states rather than transformations

Concrete Operations (7-11) Understand conservation tasks Can focus on multiple features of an object or event Can consider transformations, not just static states

Limitations of Concrete Operations Children’s logical thinking is limited to concrete information that can be perceived directly Can’t reason about abstract or hypothetical ideas

Formal Operations (11 on) Ability to think abstractly or hypothetically “What if . . . ?”

Can consider all possible outcomes of a situation (scientific reasoning) Ex: pendulum problem

Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory: Underestimated role of social environment in cognitive development Ex: Certain experiences (like formal schooling) may promote conservation and other abilities

Doesn’t explain HOW cognitive development occurs Better description than explanation of children’s cognitive development

The stage model describes children’s thinking as being more consistent than it really is Ex: Children can solve some conservation problems sooner than others

Infants and young children are more cognitively advanced than Piaget claimed Ex: deferred imitation (and thus mental representation) is present earlier than Piaget thought